New partnership has OHS and Police officials rewarding responsible behavior with tickets to June 3^rd race at Dover International Speedway

Dover –  Starting this Sunday (May 13^th), Office of Highway Safety officials and Delaware law enforcement officers will be living up to their promise to “turn up the HEAT” on unbelted motorists when the 2007 Click It or Ticket campaign begins.  Click It or Ticket is a high visibility enforcement and public awareness campaign aimed at saving lives by increasing the number of Delawareans who regularly buckle up.  This year’s campaign will run from May 13^th through June 2nd. 

Starting on the 13^th daily statewide enforcement in the form of traffic safety checkpoints and roving patrols will take place for two weeks, through May 28^th.   Delaware’s law requires drivers and passengers, including those in the back seat, to wear a seat belt.  An officer can pull over a driver if he sees any person not wearing one.  Officers will be issuing citations for seat belt violations as part of zero tolerance policy.  The ticket, which goes to the driver no matter who is unbuckled in the vehicle, is a $25.00 fine plus court administrative fees.  32 State, local and military police agencies are participating in this year’s initiative.  Nationwide enforcement begins May 21^st.

Click It or Ticket has been a success in the last several years in raising seat belt use in Delaware from 67% in 2001 to an all time high of 86% in 2006, and is even higher than the national seat belt use rate of 81%.  OHS officials say this is something not everyone is aware of.

“We want people to realize that the majority of people in Delaware are law abiding citizens and do wear their seat belts.  So during this year’s Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ve come up with a way to reward this responsible behavior.  Think of it as “Click It FOR Tickets,” says Tricia Roberts, Director of the Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

OHS is partnering with Dover International Speedway and TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management), a national non profit Coalition, to grant five safety conscious race fans a pair of tickets to the June 3^rd NASCAR Nextel Cup race at the Speedway.

During the Click It or Ticket enforcement period (May 13 – 28) when drivers pass through a traffic safety checkpoint, officers will provide any person age 16 or older in the vehicle who is buckled up, with a slip of paper that takes them to TEAM’s website.  From there they will have the chance to win one of five (5) pairs of tickets to the June 3^rd race.

However, for any person not buckled up, the driver will still receive the ticket for a violation of the seat belt law.            

Additional activities at the track will allow race fans to win tickets to the September race by signing a buckle up pledge, and give them the opportunity to tape a Buckle Up PSA.

Other highlights of this year’s Click It or Ticket campaign:

• Increasing teen seat belt use.  This will be a particular focus for OHS this year as teens have some of the lowest belt use rates in fatal crashes of any age group (between just 27% - 40%),some of our activities include:
  • Contacting each school superintendent and high school principal encouraging participation in CIOT by reading morning announcements, placing posters throughout the school, and explaining how to get a Buckle Up Stencil painted at the school exit
  • Advertising on My Space
  • Soliciting Saved By the Belt stories

• OHS and DSP are participating in a special regional Border to Border seat belt enforcement initiative with  MD and PA on May 25^th.
• Expanded night time seat belt enforcement throughout the entire campaign.  Seat belt use in Delaware drops from 86% in the daytime to just around 60% at night according to crash data.
• Increasing seat belt use in the Claymont area through presentations, community events, and targeted media advertising
• Continuing OHS’s partnership with the following key supporters:  Grottos, Delaware’s Corporate Community, the Dover Air Force Base, and new this year – the Delaware National Guard.